Valentine’s Day 2024: Movies to watch in cinemas on, before, or after V-Day

Movies worth watching in cinemas on Valentine’s Day | Image: INQUIRER.net

Valentine’s Day can be celebrated in any way, may it be a candlelit dinner, or a getaway at the beach, but there’s a certain charm in celebrating this red-letter day with a feel-good or romantic movie in front of a wide theater screen with a special someone.

Love month is the best time to live vicariously through on-screen romances, so we’ve curated a list of movies currently showing in cinemas, as well as the ones about to be released on Valentine’s Day or within February that deserve your attention this season of love. But for those who are not looking to spend V-Day watching sappy romances, you’re in luck, as there are some action flicks thrown in this time of the month.

Check out the list below of movies waiting to be part of your Valentine’s Day MO, whether you’re a fan of romance, action, suspense, and more. 

January 31 – My Sassy Girl

This is a Filipino adaptation of the original Korean movie “My Sassy Girl” (2001). Telling the love story of Junjee (Pepe Herrera) and Sheena (Toni Gonzaga) despite their opposite personalities, with Sheena’s indifference to Junjee camouflaged with her fear to love again given the hurt she endured in the past.

January 31 – Argylle

Here’s a movie for James Bond fans, as this fun, spy-focused narrative follows Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), a novelist who decides to visit her mother, Ruth Conway (Catherine O’Hara), to develop new ideas for her next book. On the way, she meets a real agent, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who is on a mission to save her. As the story unfolds, Elly realizes the fiction can become her reality.

February 7 – Lisa Frankenstein

Valentines came early for people who love inventing the perfect dream guy or girl in their heads. If you are such person, then this movie is perfect for you. Set in the 80s,”Lisa Frankenstein” is about a misunderstood high school student, Lisa (Kathryn Newton), accidentally reanimates a handsome Victorian corpse (Cole Sprouse), and together they embark on a bloody journey searching for love and acceptance.

This coming of RAGE love story is written by Oscar winner Diablo Cody (“Jennifer’s Body”), directed by the promising Zelda Williams, and graced by the presence of our very own Liza Soberano, playing the role of Taffy as her global acting debut, together with some other Hollywood stars Carla Gugino, Joe Chrest, Henry Eikenberry, and more.

February 7 – Mean Girls

Love does not always mean romantic; it can also mean familial or friendship. So here’s a movie for the girls, a film that’s perfect for a “Galentines” date because who didn’t have a core memory of the original Mean Girls (2004) movie?

A screenplay by one of the original cast members, Tina Fey, this musical adaptation based on the Broadway musical of the same name gives a modern touch to the iconic story of Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), who befriends The Plastics, Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood), Karen Shetty (Avantika), and Regina George (Renee Rapp) as she tries to navigate being a new student on a United States campus after being homeschooled in Kenya.

February 7 – Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween – Decisive Battle

Here’s for the action enthusiasts! As the battle for Tokyo intensifies between former friends turned enemies, this live-action adaptation of Ken Wakui’s best-selling manga takes Takemichi Hanagaki (Takumi Kitamura) on a journey as he uncovers the secret of the Valhalla gang as war approaches between them and the Toman gang. With a mission to save his beloved Hinata (Mio Imada), Takemichi fights to have a chance at a future with her.

February 7 – Ikaw Pa Rin Ang Piliin Ko

This May-December love story is for the unconventional who doesn’t mind a romance with an age gap. Pairing up for the first time, 54-year-old Aga Muhlach and 26-year-old Julia Barretto idealize a relationship that is meant to raise an eyebrow or two as a middle-aged conductor (Muhlach) falls in love with his student (Barretto), a younger member of the choir he is teaching.

February 14 – Madame Web

Another movie for the girls! The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which tends to cater to male superheroes, takes a thrilling turn with this all-female-led narrative. Following the enigmatic origins of Cassandra Webb, aka Madame Web (Dakota Johnson), a paramedic who has the power to see the future, she forges an allegiance with three young women, Julia (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie (Celeste O’Connor), and Anya (Isabela Merced), as they try to survive a deadly present to fulfill their destinies.

February 14 – Poor Things

Giving the same feel as “Lisa Frankeinstein,” with the lead bringing a corpse to life to curate them into a version of a human they desire, “Poor Things,” goes into a peculiar, disturbing way that is not usually appropriate for younger audiences. 

This unsettling narrative tells the story of Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) as he stumbles on the dead body of a pregnant woman and removes the baby from the womb. Imitating Frankenstein, Dr. Baxter replaced the woman’s brain with that of her unborn fetus, giving the infant Bella (Emma Stone) an adult’s body.

February 14 – I Am Not Big Bird

This one’s for the boys! After five years, this will mark Enrique Gil’s comeback on the big screen as he headlines this comedic film. Luis Carpio (Gil) finds himself entangled in a case of mistaken identity as he shares a striking resemblance to a popular porn star known as Big Bird in Thailand.

This irreverently humorous story of boyhood to manhood will also be graced by the presence of Nikko Natividad, Pepe Herrera, and Red Ollero, among others.

February 21 – The Holdovers

Despite giving the feel of a Christmas movie, “The Holdovers” is the wholesome feeling you might need this Valentine’s Day. This heartwarming narrative, set in the 1970s at an exclusive boy’s boarding school, follows the experiences of the “holdovers,” the students who cannot go home over the holidays, and the two Barton staff left to supervise them at a time of loneliness. The movie stars award-winning actors Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

February 21 – Night Swim

There will be plenty of cuddles in this movie that is perfect for horror fanatics in a time of love month. Following the story of baseball legend Ray Waller (Wyatt Russell), who is diagnosed with a major illness that forced him into early retirement, he finds himself and his family in need of a new home. Their new house has a swimming pool that hides a deadly entity that will turn their world upside down.